Jesus calms the seas
Our text today is Mark 4:35-41. In a familiar passage, Jesus calms the seas as the disciples are frantic:
35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
1. Jesus is passionately obedient. (Mark 4:35) Why didn’t Jesus tell everyone to go home? Why didn’t He kind of look for a place to stay that night? Because He was about the Father’s business. In fact, in the parallel passage in Matthew 8:23-27, the preceding passage describes Jesus telling a scribe as they were about to head across the lake, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” (Matthew 8:20). It is ironic how much He was into doing the will of the Father, when we “average folk” would be looking to knock off for the day, after a hard day’s work.
2. This obedience to God leads to true rest for our souls. (Mark 4:38a) Why was Jesus resting? Because as a man, He was very tired. There was not much private time that Jesus had, and when others were sleeping, His practice was to spend time with the Father in prayer. In this case, we see Jesus resting in the midst of the storm, because He was in the center of the Father’s will. How true is this! When we are in the center of His will in obedience by faith, we find true rest! Our burdens have been slipped off, and another carries them.
3. Jesus is Creator. (Mark 4:39) Although it’s not explicit in this text (but is in countless others such as Colossians 1:16-17), implicitly it describes Jesus Himself is the Creator of all. This is a reminder of Job 38, when the Lord rebukes Job for his complaints:
4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
5 Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?
6 On what were its bases sunk,
or who laid its cornerstone,
7 when the morning stars sang together
and all the sons of God shouted for joy?8 “Or who shut in the sea with doors
when it burst out from the womb,
9 when I made clouds its garment
and thick darkness its swaddling band,
10 and prescribed limits for it
and set bars and doors,
11 and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther,
and here shall your proud waves be stayed’?
The entire creation bows at His command. This is amazing.
4. Analysis of “afraid”. (Mark 4:40) The word for “afraid” in this passage is the Greek word “deiloi” (1169 Strongs). It means literally:
dread; timid, i.e. (by implication) faithless: fearful
This is a rather expected definition of “afraid”. Contrast that to the next word that is similar: “fear”.
5. Analysis of “fear”. (Mark 4:41) The word for “fear” in this passage is the Greek word “phobon” (5401 Strongs). It means literally:
alarm or fright: – be afraid exceedingly, fear, terror. Noun from phebomai: to flee in fear. Fear, terror, reference, respect, honor. Of God or Christ, the fear of God or the Lord meaning a deep and reverential sense of accountability to God or Christ. Used intensively, with tromos: trembling, in fear and trembling
We see that the second word used here describes a much deeper sense of terror. Look then how that is described: It is described of the disciples’ reaction to Jesus! Not the fear of their lives, but the fear of just Who it is they are transporting across the lake! This passage uses the lighter word for fear when they were “fearing for their lives”, and the deeper, terror-filled fear when they saw Jesus for who He was. Powerful.
6. The disciples’ understanding of the deity of Christ. (Mark 4:40-41) The analysis of the word “fear” above tells us that they understood just who it was they had with them.
Mediation: There is a reality to believers in Christ: it is that He dwells with us. If He is with us, then like the disciples – we should have a holy fear about us. We should never let our circumstances dictate to us how we will behave, or how we fear. We have the Creator dwelling with us. Powerful. How many times do I not appropriate this truth?
This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 30th, 2008 at 8:04 am and is filed under Devotional. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
